Thank You, Nurses, Wherever You Are

Nurses. They’re people you’d rather not need, but when you do, they can be angels of mercy. And no matter what language they speak, no matter the color of their skin, no matter the style of their uniform, we are grateful for the care they give and healing they bring.

Nurses. We need more of them. While the US has a shortage, some of the shortfall is made up by recruiting from other countries. The US doesn’t have the most nurses per capita, but we’re much closer to the top than to the bottom. Below are the 15 countries with the highest density of nurses and midwives (showing the number per 1000 population), followed by the 15 countries with the least—using the most recent data available from the World Health Organization:

The Northern European countries always do so well on these types of lists (health care, or well-being lists). I am thinking back to the cultural map you posted and with the exception of Netherlands and Germany, this list show “Protestant Europe” ranking in the first 6 spots — but I’m not sure exactly which other cultural values they share. At any rate, I think the list probably shows where nurses are valued most.